Sliding doors are a well known type of doors and are commonly used in a variety of applications, for example residential applications and commercial applications. Sliding doors typically include rollers mounted at the bottom of the door which roll on a track and permit the door to slide open and closed. Existing sliding door rollers have been made in assemblies that contain a single roller or multiple rollers. However, existing sliding door roller assemblies have not been modular such that the number of rollers can be easily varied depending on the particular application requirements for the sliding door.
Sliding doors are currently manufactured in a variety of sizes. Sliding doors having a size of up to 10' high and up to 4' wide are common. Oversized doors having larger heights and widths have also been manufactured. Oversized sliding doors are generally heavier than the more standard sized sliding doors due to the increased size and may require larger sliding door rollers. There has also been a tendency to increase the weight of sliding doors which may also require the use of larger sliding door rollers. For example, dual glazing of glass sliding doors increases the weight of such doors. Sliding door manufacturers, as with many manufacturers in general, strive to control inventory. Accordingly, sliding door manufacturers desire to reduce the number of components carried in inventory that are required to make sliding doors. Sliding door manufacturers may stock only larger rollers because the larger sliding door rollers can be used for standard, heavy and oversized sliding doors. Sliding door manufacturers may not stock smaller sliding door rollers in an attempt to control inventory and reduce manufacturing costs. However, utilizing relatively large sliding door rollers may result in over rollering smaller size and lighter doors.
Existing sliding door roller assembles have been adjustable such that the roller can be moved to various height positions. Adjustment of the roller allows for installation of the sliding door onto the roller track and also allows for proper adjustment of the sliding door on the roller track. Existing sliding door rollers have been adjustable by pivoting the roller about a pivot point when an adjustment screw is rotated. Other sliding door rollers have been adjustable by rotating an adjustment screw which slides the axle of the roller along a slot in a roller housing in which the slot is at an angle relative to vertical. Such roller assemblies having a povitable adjustment or an angled slot adjustment require the roller to move horizontally as well as vertically. Horizontal movement of the roller during adjustment of the roller requires increased space around the roller to permit horizontal movement of the roller. Also, the adjustment screw must be adjusted further to move the roller horizontally and vertically as compared to a mere vertical movement. Sliding door roller assemblies have also been made which have a vertical slot for a vertical only adjustment of the roller. However, such roller assemblies which provide only vertical adjustment of the roller can be simplified and improved.
Accordingly, one advantage would be to improve sliding door rollers used for sliding doors, and more particularly improve sliding door rollers by providing modular roller assemblies which can be connected together to provide as many rollers as desired for the particular application of the sliding door. Another advantage would be to improve the structure of sliding door rollers by improving the adjustment of the roller.